Two-thirds of teenagers taken to Cork University Hospital (CUH) after they overdosed on drugs had used paracetamol, while more than half had used a cocktail of drugs, a new study has found. The study in the Irish Medical Journal analysed data on all 85 adolescents seen at the paediatric emergency unit of CUH for drug overdose from January 2014 to December 2016. All bar two of the adolescents had used painkillers to overdose – 67.5 per cent had used paracetamol, while other drugs used included antidepressants, antipsychotics, antibiotics, and antihistamines. Over half (54.1 per cent) of the teenagers had used more than one drug in their overdose attempt. The CUH study is the first in Ireland that has specifically evaluated the presentations and preceding factors of overdose in adolescents seen in paediatric settings, the authors believe.

Source: The Irish Times April 19, 2018 18:59 UTC